Shelter
by rageandlove8912
Summary: The Capitol wanted star-crossed lovers, it didn't matter who they were. Now Katniss has to pretend to love the man she should hate the most. But is it all an act? Katniss x Cato
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, this is my first Hunger Games fanfiction! Tell me what you think! **

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_~You did it alone, you did it for fun~_

_The tributes were lining up as their mentors prepared them for their interviews. Of course, Haymitch was here, but he wasn't proving to be any help. The only thing he could say to Peeta and me was to make them like us. He made it sound like it was the easiest thing ever. I'd never really been the best at making friends, so this might be even harder than the Hunger Games. I was snapped out of my thoughts when the interviews started. Normally, I wouldn't pay any attention to them, but I wanted to see what my competition was like and how hard it would be to get sponsors._

_ The first few interviews were exactly was I expected, the Careers talking about how they were going to win the games to bring honor to their districts. It all changed when the boy, Cato, from District 2 walked onto the stage. He was tall and muscular, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was handsome, I had to admit, but I couldn't think of him like that, or in any way. Having any thoughts of him would only make it harder in the games. Besides, who had ever heard of a love story inside the games?_

_ "So Cato, tell me," Caeser started with his usual questions, "are there any special girls back home?" The crowd went completely silent, awaiting his answer. He answer would be yes, of course, with his looks, I'm sure he had girls lining up back home. _

_ "Not really," he replied, "I never really had time for that." His answered shocked me, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He'd probably been in training for the games since a young age, with all his attention focused on being prepared for the games and one day volunteering. _

_ "There isn't one girl who's caught your eye?" Caeser was really trying to pry something out of Cato to dangle in front of the audience. _

_ "There is one girl, but she isn't from home," he answered, making everyone in the audience focused on him. _

_ Caeser continued to ask him if it was a girl from the Capitol, desperately wanting to know her name, but Cato shook his head saying no. _

_ "She's one of the volunteers?" Caeser was truly interested now and so was the rest of the audience. Of course, he didn't wait for Cato to answer, he just kept up with his line of questioning, "Can we have a name?" _

_ "Tell you what, when I win these games, I'll come back and tell you all about her." Just like that, his interview was over and the rest of the tributes walked onto the stage, each giving their own perspective on the games. _

_ My interview came and went; Haymitch even told me I did a decent job, which may have been the nicest thing he'd ever said to me. Now it was time for Peeta to go up. He shouldn't have any problems; he'd always been good at making friends. _

_ Caeser started with his usual questioning, asking Peeta if there was a girl back home, but Peeta seemed to pause at this, as if he was wondering whether or not to tell. _

_ Finally, Peeta gave in and started talking to Caeser about it. Apparently there was a girl, but Peeta seemed to be sad whenever he talked about her. Caeser told him to go out there and win the games so he can win the girl of his dreams. _

_ "I don't think that is going to help me," Peeta responded, the sad expression returning to his face as the audience hung on every word he said. _

_ "And why is that?"_

_ "Because she came here with me."_

That was then and this is now. Peeta and I were no longer arguing over his proclamation of love; we were running from mutants chasing after us. The canon just went off, signifying that there were only three of us left. Either Thresh or Cato had just died. If Peeta and I could manage to outlive the last person, we could go home, together. That's all that mattered right now, keeping Peeta safe.

"Come on!" I shouted at him. We were almost to the cornucopia, where we should be safe.

They were chasing us, but Peeta and I kept running. We didn't stop until we made it to the cornucopia. He helped me up, and then he came up. The second he got up, I felt relief rush through me. We did it, we were safe now. The mutants clawed at the metal structure, but they couldn't come up. Now all we had to do was wait out the other tribute, who would soon be attacked by them. No one could outrun them for that long.

"Peeta we're…" I spun around to celebrate with him, but the sight I saw was not one for celebration. Cato was here, with his arm wrapped around Peeta's neck, cutting off his air supply. Peeta struggled to rip his arm away, but it was no use. Cato was too strong for him.

"Cato," I glared at him, putting an arrow in my bow and raising it at him, just in case he decided to do anything he would regret.

"I wouldn't do that, girl on fire. You kill me and I'll drag him down with me," he warned and I knew he was right. We'd made it this far; I wasn't going to risk Peeta's life.

I could hear the mutants clawing at the cornucopia, as if they were a reminder that my time was running out. I had to make a decision soon or else Peeta was going to suffocate.

"One more kill, that's all I need," Cato mumbled. I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. The rules changed so that two victors could be crowned only if they were from the same district. If Cato killed Peeta, he would have to kill me too.

Peeta's face was turning blue as he continued to struggle with Cato. I drew my bow even tighter, not knowing what to do. I was completely helpless. I couldn't do anything to help Peeta.

Just then, Peeta took his finger and drew an x on Cato's arm. I knew what I had to do now, but so did Cato.

"Don't even think about it," his grip on Peeta tightened, "if you raise that bow any more, I'll kill him."

I lowered it a little, to make Cato think I was listening to him. In truth, I had no idea what I was going to do. Peeta was going to die soon anyways, even if I didn't do anything to stop it. I had to do something. I had to save the boy with the bread, if it was the last thing I do.

I raised my bow up quickly, hoping to throw Cato off, but he was faster than I was. Before I could even react, Cato pulled a knife out and shoved it into Peeta's stomach, blood instantly started gushing out.

"Peeta!" I screamed and ran towards him. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Peeta collapsed into my arms. There was blood everywhere; I couldn't even find where it was coming from. He was still alive, but not for much longer. I could see his eyes starting to close. "No Peeta stay with me!" I shouted at him, stroking his forehead.

"Katniss," he struggled to say. His eyes closed and I heard the canon go off. No he couldn't be dead! I started to shake him, shouting his name.

"It's no use," Cato whispered in my ear. I was so focused on Peeta that I didn't even notice Cato was near me. I wanted to attack Cato, scream at him and shove him into the mutants, but they weren't there anymore.

Before I even had time to think, the Capitol music started to play and a voice started to talk.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games!"

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**Thank you for reading! Leave a review and tell me if I should continue! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm so happy to hear that you want me to continue with this. Happy holidays to everyone! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

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_~When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul~_

Everything felt so unreal. I had done it; I won the Hunger Games. I could return to Prime, Gale and my old life. I should be happy, even relieved, but I wasn't. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that just wouldn't go away.

"Hey sweetie," a tall blonde walked into the room and shut the door behind him. His entrance only made me feel worse.

"Cato," I mumble, not even bothering to look up at him. I was lying on my bed, flipping through some books, trying to distract myself from the reality of my situation. As soon as we got out of the arena, Haymitch warned me about my situation.

_"The Capitol wanted a love story from the beginning, but when Peeta died, Cato took his place," Haymitch whispered to me when the doctors left my room._

_ "But why?" I asked. _

_ "People have started becoming unhappy with the Hunger Games; the Capitol needed to show them that there's more to it than death," he leaned in even closer, "Katniss you have to play along, they'll kill you and your family if you don't."_

I could hear Cato walking closer and closer to me, but I didn't move. I didn't even flinch when he came and sat in front of me on the bed.

"Come on Katniss, that's no way to treat the man you love," he said as if the whole thing was a joke. Maybe it was to him, he didn't act like he had anything to lose.

"Go away Cato," I spat at him, still flipping through the various magazines that Effie left for me. Now that I'm a victor, she thinks I should reinvent my style.

He started to place his hand on my cheek, but I slapped it away and raised my head up, glaring at him. Cato always has a way of tricking me into doing what he wants and I hate it. I can't stand to be around him, but I have to pretend when the cameras are around. I wonder what my family is thinking about me right now, being in love with the boy who killed Peeta. If only they knew that I couldn't even stand to look at him.

"There are those beautiful eyes I love so much," his voice was laced with amusement. He actually finds it entertaining to torture me because there's nothing I can do about it.

"What do you want?" I finally snap at him.

"Haymitch wants you downstairs," he said, standing up and extending a hand to me.

"What are you doing?" I glance at his hand and then up at him.

"There could be people down there other than Haymitch," his voice trailed off and I knew he was right. Haymitch and Effie are the only ones who know the real story behind this. It's been nice having them to talk to, but I really can't wait to go home and see Prim and Gale.

So we walked hand in hand through the hallways, down to the main room where Haymitch was sitting on the couch, alone. I immediately dropped Cato's hand when I saw it and walked over to Haymitch and sat down on the couch. Cato was right behind me and sat down next to me. I tried to move away from him, but he closed me in. As Haymitch started to talk, Cato wrapped an arm around my waist, his grip too tight for me to break free from.

"You two seem cozy," Haymitch mocked us when he saw me trying to break free. He got a kick out of the relationship between Cato and me.

"Is that all you wanted me here for? To mock me?" I asked him.

"There's something we need to talk about," Haymitch looked serious, "they are sending you two straight into the victory tour instead of sending you home first."

I was shocked; the Capitol was completely changing everything. I was supposed to see Prim first, before I was thrown into a train, alone with Cato.

"They don't want to break up the lovers," Haymitch continued.

"What's going to happen when it ends?" Cato asked the question I had been thinking about all along. I wasn't ready to face the reality just yet; in this case, ignorance was bliss.

"One of you is going to have to move to the other's district," he looked down at the ground, "which means you might have to leave your old life behind, Katniss."

Was he being serious? I would have to leave behind my family, my friends just so I could be with a boy I didn't even love.

"But Prim…" I mumbled.

"Don't worry, your family will go with you," Haymich said.

"But Gale…"

I could tell by the look in Haymitch's eyes that Gale coming wouldn't be possible. I couldn't leave him, he was my best friend.

"But we don't even know if that's for sure. For all we know, Cato could be going to your district," Haymitch said. Then he told us we should get some rest, since we would be leaving tomorrow.

Unfortunately, they decided that Cato and I had spent enough time apart in the games, so we should be together at every moment, even at night. I used to find comfort in the simplicity of sleep, but now Cato was everywhere. Every time I tried to talk to him about sleeping in different beds, he just shut me out, like normal.

I walked up to the rooms, deep in thought, when Cato rested his hand on my back, guiding me to the room. I wanted to shove him off, but I was too tired to fight with him. Even though I had yet to see it, I knew Cato had a terrible temper.

I climbed into bed as Cato went into the bathroom to get ready. I enjoyed the alone time; it was so rare these days. Everywhere I went, Cato had to be with me.

I was just starting to drift into my peaceful sleep, when I felt an arm wrap around my waist, pulling me into a warm body.

"Cato," I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"Just go to sleep Katniss," his voice lacked the usual cockiness, almost sweet, but I knew better. Still, I didn't protest and I fell right asleep, almost finding comfort in Cato's touch.

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I woke up in the morning cuddled up next to Cato, still in his arms. Regret instantly flooded me as I realized what I had just done. I pushed myself out of his grip and sprang up from the bed.

"Katniss," Cato mumbled still half asleep and reaching around the bed for me. "Katniss, what's wrong?"

"Get away from me!" I shouted him as he rose from the bed. He kept trying to come closer to me.

"I don't understand, did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"As if you don't know," I mumbled. How could he be so stupid? Clearly I was being too subtle.

"Tell me," he commanded me.

"You killed Peeta!" I shouted at him, "And here I am sleeping in your arms! I have to be with a killer every hour of the day! That's what's wrong." Tears were filling my eyes, but I couldn't stop them from coming out. I had so much emotion built of that I never let out. I couldn't stand another day of pretending to be in love with a murderer.

"You're doing what you have to do to survive. You can't blame yourself for that," Cato was trying to calm me down.

"I'm not blaming myself," I spat at him, "I'm blaming you! You killed Peeta and then I have to pretend to be in love with you! Now to top it off, I might have to leave Gale because of _you_!" I didn't mean to bring Gale's name into this. He was just a friend, but I knew Cato wouldn't see it that way.

"Katniss," he stood up and walked over to me, "who's Gale?" His tone was serious and I knew I'd hit a nerve.

"He's no one," I whispered, but that wasn't enough for Cato. He gripped my shoulders and pulled me closer to him so that I was looking up into his angry eyes.

"Who is he?" He asked very slowly. Why does he care so much? It's not like we're really in love.

"He's my best friend okay?" I snap at him. I hope he'll let me go, but he just brings his face closer to mine.

"I don't want to hear his name again. You're mine Katniss. Only mine," he whispered in my ear. "Understood?"

I don't say anything, I just try to break free, but Cato is too strong. He won't try anything before the victory tour; we both need to be in top condition.

"Understood?" he repeated, except this time with more anger. I knew the only way he would calm down was if I said yes, so that's exactly what I did. I hated giving up, but in this case I knew I had to. I didn't stand a chance against Cato if his temper was triggered.

"Go get ready, we'll be leaving for the tour soon," he left the room. My prep team wasn't required for the departure since we wouldn't be seeing anyone till after we were on the train. I just put on whatever clothes I could find and I put my hair in a braid.

The train as relatively close to where we were staying. Fortunately, I didn't have to walk there with Cato, he had already left.

"You and Cato have to fix whatever fight you two had," Haymitch stopped me right before I got on the train.

"Excuse me?" I asked him.

"It's going to be a long victory tour and you two have to be on your best behavior. There can't be any doubt about your love," he warned me.

"I don't even like him!" I said, "How am I supposed to make people think I'm in love with him?"

"You'd better figure out a way or else.." he didn't have to finish that statement, I knew what would happen.

How did my life turn into this? The fate of my family rested with me putting on the best performance of my life. I couldn't even stop myself from fighting with Cato when we were together. It would have been so much easier if Peeta and I had won. Just the thought of Peeta brings tears to my eyes. I had to be strong now, and honor Peeta's memory. He sacrificed everything so I could return to my sister. I would do everything in my power to make sure his sacrifice doesn't go to waste.

Haymitch lead the way to the train and it looked similar to the won I had ridden to the Capitol. When I was on that train, I wasn't even sure I would be going home, but now I was returning home to convince people that I was in love with a killer. I would tell them the truth, then they wouldn't be able to hate me. I'm doing it all for them.

I heard the door slide open and Effie was walking in, dressed in bright clothing as always. She was talking on and on about the kinds of clothes I would wear and how great my prep team would be. At least someone was excited about the victory tour. I couldn't bring myself to crush Effie's happiness by telling her that I really didn't care about the clothing or my stylists. Sensing that I wasn't interested, Effie walked out of the room, saying she had someone or something to attend to. I didn't really know with her anymore. I still hadn't seen any sign of Cato. Maybe he was avoiding me. It was nice not being forced to be with him.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard the door again. I was prepared to hear more about Effie's plans for my wardrobe, but the person standing there was a pleasant surprise.

"Cinna," I exclaimed running over to him to give him a hug.

"You ready to work?" he asked me and I knew he would be there along the way to help me.

"Let's get this over with," I said, with a little more hope in my voice.


End file.
